Battered and bruised but brave. That is what Leeds will be when they face Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the World Club Championship on Sunday.
They have had three very hard games in the Super League which certainly would have toughened them up for what is going to be a real tussle.
The negative is that their Super League battles have come at a cost as they have picked up quite a few knocks and injuries.
Orford: Star for Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
But Leeds are not going to lie down, they know they are on the verge of something very special if they become the first team to win World Club trophy back-to-back. So they are going to throw everything into this game and I know a few players will be looking to set the record straight after a poor World Cup.
It is going to be an intriguing contest because Manly have never won the title in their proud history.
From the day he jumped on that plane to come back from Australia Jamie Peacock would have had it in the back of his mind that he has Manly to make amends.
Stevo
Quotes of the week
Leeds Rhinos v Manly Sea Eagles
Live on Sky Sports
5.30pm, Sun, Sky Sports 1 &HD1
Their coach Des Hasler played in the last chance they had when they were beaten 8-2 by Wigan in 1987. It probably would have been eating away at him from the first time he took up the job as Manley coach and he will be thinking that maybe he can balance the books.
Having seen them play against Harlequins, well, they look sharp and incisive and they really look up for this.
Orford to soar
Leeds have to look out for Matt Orford, who is a very fine player. He has never played for New South Wales - or for Australia - but he is world class. He reads the game exceptionally well and can pinpoint his opponents' weaknesses very quickly.
He has the nerve to make the tough decisions too and Leeds will have to keep him under control. There is little doubt in my mind that he was one of the major reasons why Manly won the Grand Final in Australia. He also won the Dally M Medal when he was voted the best player in the NRL.
Orford against Rob Burrow is going to be a great clash.
I am also looking forward to seeing Jamie Lyon in action again. To be fair the former St Helens player struggled in that centre position. He did not seem to fit in and was all at sea.
He just could not seem to find his form when he first went but boy did he find it last year! He was superb and I am sure he is going to be very impressive on Sunday night too.
Lyon will be up against Danny McGuire who I thought was immense against Hull KR last week. He really stood up and got himself counted. He worked overtime in both attack and defence. There are not many stand-offs who have got it all in attack and then who can put 15 tackles in too.
Rhinos' power
I think Leeds have the power in the forwards and Jamie Peacock will definitely be out to prove a point. Being the captain of your country and know you have not played anywhere close to your capabilities in a major competition like the World Cup must hurt.
From the day he jumped on that plane to come back from Australia, Peacock would have had it in the back of his mind that he has Manly to make amends. I think we are going to see a mighty performance from him. If Leeds are going to win it, it is going to be through their forwards, led by their captain.
Leeds have lost the quality of Danny Buderus through injury but Brian McClellan will be very pleased that Matt Diskin has stepped up to the Buderus challenge. He is playing superbly well and is certainly back to his best. Diskin knows that it was going to have to share the jersey with Buderus, but he has kept to his part of the bargain that is for sure.
Without the skills of Brent Webb Leeds are missing something special in their three-quarters. Manly have got so much strength out wide. Centre Steve Matai is just pure class. He has a lovely pair of hands, the ability to step off either foot and he seems to know when to offload or when to go on his own. Don't miss this kid in action!
So, as you can see, the balance is there for both sides and I think both will give each other plenty of problems...
Stevo says...
Star Men: This week I have gone for one from each team. Orford from Manley and Diskin from Leeds. These are the two guys who can win it or lose it for their side.
Prediction: Leeds will win if they dominate the forward battle. if they don't, well I think Manly's three-quarters will be too hard to handle.
Comments (9)
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Gary Doughty says...
Luke Pownall, you are talking rubbish man..i assume from your acid comments you are an Aussie and being so means you hate losing and would dearly love to beat any English team at any sport invented, so do not pretend that you could not care less about losing. That said as a Leeds fan i agree that NRL is much stronger than Super League, primarily beacause of the situation of no relagation (which has been adopted in Super League this season) this enables all the best players to be spread out across all the teams and gives young talent a chance to flourish, hence forth your constant stream of excellent young players, for someone like Orford to not have even played Origin football let alone test Rugby is a testament to the NRL strength in depth. As a Leeds fan i also agree that if you take out Leeds, St Helens, Bradford and Wigan the chances of any other team winning Super League are virtually none existant beacause they do not have the squads to compete for a full season.Hopefully this will change over time due to the Franchise system allowing us to develop young talent and in 5 years time we may have a national team capable of giving Aus and NZ a more consistent challenge rather than isolated victories. I look forward to your response as i feel i have been very fair in my assesment of both leagues. P.s. Although if played mid season Manly may win i dispute the victory margin would be 50 +. Good luck to both teams...Come on Leeds.
Posted 06:57 1st March 2009
John Christie says...
If the Aussie NRL game is so good, how come we've won 7 of the last 9 encounters? Yeah, yeah, I've heard all of their excuses, and that's all they are, excuses! I'm sure it'll be a very tough game but, at the end of eighty minutes, I expect Leeds to be the first ever back-to-back winners. That should give the Aussies something else to whine about. Ah, I've just remembered, they have 'another' Aussie Referee? There can't be any other sport in the World where this would be allowed? John Christie, Headingley, leeds, West yorkshire, ENGLAND!
Posted 14:02 28th February 2009
Carl Lowe says...
Personaly , the world club challenge as run its course and should end, i think Manly or the only australian team for the last few years to take it seriously and will win comfortably, even though lots is stacked against them, if it is to continue? would be good to see the SL champs travel down under after the grand final to give it a bit of credibilty, dont think we would win a few in a row then, even though half the english team would be made up of aussie's and kiwi's, I know its all down to the accountants and fixture lists but hey! the only way the Aussies will acknowledge the loss if its on there turf and not dismiss it as another pre season trial match in the cold and wet north of england. Lets face it, we have had it good.. 3 or 4 tri nations comps and we never won that! and then the world cup! well no need to say more, we have had far to much advantage and never claimed anything except the WCC with the help of several overseas players, except wigans win against manly?
Posted 06:21 28th February 2009
Steve Wood says...
Answering Luke Pownalls comments. These are typical of someone making excuses in case they lose. Regardless of the time they play and what type of game it is, these guys are professional players who stay fit and always want to win. No-one is going to fly half way round the world just to make up the numbers. I've never played any sport going into it not wanting to win, why bother playing otherwise? Of course they care and of course they want to win. I'm not saying Leeds would win if they were both mid season BUT I'm not saying they wouldn't, we just don't know and we never will until the change the date. Bottom line is, the English teams have won 7 out of the last 9 and you know it hurts, problem is, no-one is man enough to admit it!!
Posted 00:43 28th February 2009
Mark Mcdonagh says...
Injuries....Weather....time of year...... Irrelevant - you can only beat the team you face. Would Leeds have been champs if they had played the final against saints in July? Would Hull be champs if they had no injuries? Maybe the Australians do not care much for the trophy - but i'm sure, the 17 players whether they be Leeds or Manly who have to watch the other team lift the trophy will be gutted!!
Posted 17:50 27th February 2009
Luke Pownall says...
If both teams were at full tilt / full fitness ect Manly would absolutely wipe the floor with Leeds ... New Zealand may have won the world cup final but the Australia is the best in the business hands down ... No other Rugby League competition in the world holds a candle to the NRL ... And I'd even back the NRL "wooden spooners" to crush any Super League opponent if both teams were to meet in the midst of their respective seasons ... But tonight it's a coin flip ... Anything that happens outside of rounds 1-26 of the NRL is all about self preservation from a club's point of view ... And the number one priority for Manly and Des Hasler tonight will be to finish the game with NO major injuries ... This World Club Challenge is nothing more than a glorified pre-season trial as far as Australian teams are concerned ... Sure Manly would love to win tonight, but a clean slate on the injury front is far and away more important than holding the WCC trophy aloft ... Manly will be underdone in every sense as well, having only dusted off the cobwebs as far as pre-season match fitness and finesse is concerned .. So who wins tonight ? Who cares if you're an Australian ... Because the real show is still two weeks away from kicking off .. But for any English opponent, this has always been the chance to flog a half-asleep horse, so to speak, and stake a claim as the world's best Rugby League club side ... So in late february, in England, it's probably advantage Leeds ... In May or June, if this game were played on any corner of the planet, Manly wins by 50 ....
Posted 13:28 27th February 2009
Craig Flaherty says...
i think manly will win the world club challenge on sunday because they have got a stronger team than leeds and all so they have got skillful players such as Steve Matai Brett Stewart Brent Kite Matt Orford and Jamie Lyon good luck manly for sunday.
Posted 10:25 27th February 2009
Paul Smith says...
ive lived in oz for 4 years supporting manly and now Im back in Yorkshire. The simple fact is that the Aussies do not want it. quote Des hasler: 'hopefully we'll be up for it' hopefully?? and 'its good prep for our season'. Having watched the wcc down under it is embarrassing to hear how the commentators refer to it. I believe the rfl are happy for it to be like this as we are winning it- but if that changes it will be even more of a laughing stock down under. The only way to fix it is to make it a true battle of champions with the same squads so after the grand finals. It needs anStamford-style super prize investment for the players and clubs- imagine what millions can do for a rugby league team??!! The sport is sadly not big enough for a neautral venue like Japan but, having played myself in the USA the viability to play it there would be much greater- and a college football stadium would be an amazing venue and the crowds, all be it at reduced prices with one dollar beers would definately come to watch. Dont get me wrong its fantastic what it means to British supporters but in our heart of hearts the world champions tag is a hollow one- NONE of our clubs would make the top 5 in the NRL- anybody he disagrees with that has not played over there or watched the NRL closely enough.. Defensively we just do not have the ability to spot whats happening, mentally we cannot play the possession game we panic too much. having said all this, good luck to Leeds this weekend- and what a surprise- an Australian referee- seems it does not matter where on earth we play- the rules are the ref and the rules are Australian!
Posted 09:46 27th February 2009
Steven Bromley says...
I would like to add that I have been living in Australia for the past year and managed to catch a lot of rugby league games here especially that of Melbourne Storm. I also managed to go to the Manly vs Melbourne Grand Final and I was particularly impressed with Manly's full-back Stewart, who reminded me a lot, in terms of influence, of Brent Webb. I believe he could be a big decider in this game, even though I'm a Rhinos fan, I have seen plenty from this Manly team to convince me that they will possibly come out on top this Sunday.
Posted 04:26 27th February 2009
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